Photoinduced current transient spectroscopy technique applied to the study of point defects in polycrystalline CdS thin films

CdS thin films of variable thickness (between 160 and 1200 nm) were prepared using rf magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that the films have hexagonal structure and that the crystallites are preferentially oriented with the <002> axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. The results of electrical conductivity measurements as a function of film thickness and of temperature provide evidence that the conductivity is controlled by a thermally activated mobility in the presence of an intergrain barrier. The room temperature barrier height φ decreases with the increase in film thickness. Values of φ between 0 and 0.25 eV were determined. Photoinduced current transient spectroscopy performed on five samples having different thicknesses showed the presence of 11 traps with activation energies in the range 0.08-1.06 eV; deeper traps being observed on thinner films. By comparison with literature results, seven traps are attributed to native defects and foreign impurities (mainly Cu, Au, and Ag). Four other traps, not previously observed, are attributed to residual defects. The observation that deeper traps are detected in samples with larger barrier heights has been discussed and interpreted in terms of the energy band profile near the grain boundary.